Method and apparatus for fueling ships at sea



@Cih 2 192%: T. S. MllLlL-IER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FUELING SHIPS AT SEA Filed Dec. l2, 1922 5 ShsQhS-Shee'tl HBWEQWW mm, 2 W2 T. S. WELLER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FUELING S HIPS AT SEA Filed Dec}. 12. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR.

. MVM

ATTORNEYS T. s. MILLER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FUELING SHIPS AT SEA Filedfiec. 1.2. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IENTOR.

A TTORNEYS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FUELING SHIPS AT SEA Filed Dec. 1.2. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 wwwm r. s. WELLER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FUELING SHIPS AT SEA Filed Dec. .120 1922' 5 5h69$$r5h89t 5 1 yaw w Inventor Fntent dmet. E; m

f l? l THUMJTS SIPJENGJEE MILLER, T SQUTJBE @BANGE, NEW JERSEY.

llllEJETHUD AND APPARATUS FOR FUELING SJEEWS AT SEA.

Application filed December MB, rear. serial life. GQQALW.

' My invention relates to supplying ships with oiland it has particular reference to the fueling of ships while travelling at considerable speed at sea, I Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter and the novelty of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the acco mpan'ying'drawings in which Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a plan and elevation of the stern of a fueling ship connected to the bow of a ship to be fueled with the necessary lines in place; Fig. 3 is a'view of the stern portion of the fueling ship on a larger scale than that of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the stern portion of the fueling ship showing modified means for handling the various lines; Fig. 5 is an elevation of a hose jack 2a or a support for the fuel hose; Fig. 6 IS a vertical section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 77 of Figure 5; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the hook portion of a hanger designed to support 2 the hose; F ig, 9 is a rear View of the device shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the hanger shown in Figs. 8 and 9 with an oil hose in place; Fig. 11 is a plan view of a modified form of hose support; Fig. 12 is a he view in elevation of the hose support shown in Fig. 11; Fig. 13 is a view, partly in section, looking from the left of 12 showing a portion of the saddle or support proper cut away; Fig. It is a view in perspective showing the means for securing together at the hose couplings of the jackstay sections. of

. securing the latter to the fuelhose, and Fig. 15 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 14.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that l have provided two elevated hawsers 2 and 3'co1inecting the rear portion of the fuel ship A with the bow of the ship lfi to be fueled. From each of the hawsers 2 and 3 l suspend a hose for conducting the liquid fuel. A fixed line 1 known as a distance hawser usually very slack limits the distance between the ships although is not intended to act at a tow line. The hawsers 2 and 3 are attached to the fuel ship in a manier to permit the towing of the ship to be fueled as will be fully explained hereinafter. Tn Figs: 1 and .2 T have illustrated two hose and twosupporting hawsers and in Fig. 4 an arrangement wherein but one hose is used but it will be understood that the number of all hit

hose and hawsers used may be varied as desired, similar apparatus being used in connection with each hose and its supporting hawser.

The method of fueling by the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is carried out in the followingmanner:

(l) lBoth ships maneuveruntil the one to be fueled follows astern and in line with the fuel ship at the same speed at a suitable distance, for example about 450 feet or less. 7

(2) The fuel ship lowers a float to which are attached three manila lines, which are picked up by the ship to be fueled. By means of these three lines, three hawsers are pulled over to the ship to be fueled. .These lines comprise a hawser 1, to be referred to as a distance hawser, the function of which will be hereinafter described, and two towing and supporting hawsers 2 and 3 from each of which a fuel hose is to be suspended. At the time the supporting hawsers2and3are pulled over, two messenger lines may conveniently be brought over. The function of these is to pull over the fuel hose suspended from the hawsers in the manner to he described. The manner of conveying the lines above mentioned to the ship B forms no part of the present invention and the above procedure is given as one of a variety of ways in which this may be accomplished.

The function of the distance hawser is to prevent the ships from exceeding a predetermineddistance between-them of, say 300 or 400 feet. The distance hawser is maintained slack, sagging considerably into the sea, and is not used for towing. The distance hawser has an additional function in that it tends automatically to maintain a uniform distance between the ships for the reason that whenever there is a tendency for the towed ship to lose speed, the distance hawser will tighten, the sag will decrease and its tension will increase. This increased hawser tension effects a partial slowing-down of the fuel ship and a gradual speeding-up of the towed ship and whenever the ships approach one another the distance hawser slackens, reduces its pull and the towed ship automatically settles hack to normal distance.

(3) The tension of the supporting hawsers is regulated by means of automatic tensioning engines 10 on the fueling ship and to which the hawsers are attached. ft is desirable that an approximately uniform tension be maintained in the supporting hawsers by tartan fit) till

hit

lltlti lllO means of which the ship to be fueled is also towed. E prefer to use for this purpose automatie tension engines of the type invented by me and disclosed in my Patent No. 1,405,612 and the patents and applications therein referred to. The supporting hawsers 2 and 3 having each been put under tension. by the automatic tension. engines 10, 10, the fuel ship may increase her speed up to, say, nine or ten knots. During this period the ship to be fueled must regulate her revolutions so that the distance hawser will remain very slack.

I provide blocks 20, 20, through which the hawsers 2 and 8 pass respectively and to each of which is connected aline 25, operated by Winch 890. Thus, by means of Winches 390, 390,1 may haul hawsers 2 and 8 down close to the deck, whereby each hose 30 may be ata cached, in a manner to be described.

(4) The speed oi? both ships having been regulated as indicated in the -fioregoing, the supporting havvsers 2 and 3v are hauled down close to the deck by operating" winches 390, 390, in the manner described, so that they Wili be easily accessibie to the men for hooking on the hose. This hauling down does not materially increase the. tension in the hawscrs 2 and 3, the tension engines 10 pay out the requisite amounts of the hawsers.

(5) The oil hose 30 are new hooked on to their supporting hawsers by attaching the supporting hangers 31, spaced. say, every five feet, The problem of supporting" a long tie);- ible conduit, such as an oil hose, is rather comlex. The tensile strength of the hose is not suihcient to bear the -force necessary to sup port the hose when ioeded. Furthermore, it is advisable to place considerable tension on the hose otherwise it will sag between transverse supports to such an extent that oil will not readily flow therethrough. Furthermore, if all the tension is applied at the ends, the Weight of the hose when loaded would be sui iicient to break it,

ha e devised me"- for supporting the hose which consists in attaching a cahle to the hose regular intervals and making the length of cable between points of attachment slightly shorter thgn corresponding sections of the se, so that a predetermined tension appl to the hose, The tension on the hose is ii 'ted by the cabie so that there is no danger oi severing the hose due abnormai. pull, when the ships pitch. By this means the tension in 1 out its ieagt nose can be distributed throughc h and limited to apredetermined amount.

A 32 of a cahle oi ackstay 'is at tar-hell s l" in of mm t each ho,

nila lat the sup' 31, as shown i of acco M manner H 'loilows i -m SQCLQQF; 2 are conveniently essee? provided the ends thereof: With eye splices 131 and thinihlcs 182. A shackle 133 is p asscd through one thiinble 132 and. is secured to the end of the adjacent jac stay section by means of a pin 134; passing through shackle 133 and thimbie 132 of that iaclrstay section, as is. clearly shown in Fig. 15. The jaclrstay sections 32 may then be securely lashed to the hose'30 by means of lashing 135 which passed over and under shackle 133 and around the hose coupling 136, as shrmn. 'l. he hose 30 may be supported at coupling; by a strap 38, in which case, additional lashing of jackstay sections to the hose will be socured. It will be noted that when the hanger 31 is attached. to the hose by 1110.11" 5 oi the manila strap 33, as shown in detail in Figone 10, the strap 33 passes around both the oil hose and the jaciistay section u'hei by e the latter lily bound to the hose. Ihe iaclrstay st preferably ma aoproiiiniatel i o the hon us, it being) 01 t tl juclistay ,5 be about o; 1M1 tl The acln ta senger reviousiy brought over I i ..i"i- 4." 1

opeiatcu b the men on These hairlin lines are atta "'k not shown) provided at the end of i which also prevent the entiuncc oi the nose (-3) After the hose. 35 have been co1nplelel 'essel l;

tached to of each ice the last the hooh: 3 0;. the supper noted gel idly by 4-0, These serve the oual function 0''; su )portin;

30, 36, at a point in c \vl c 1 il 0th he dangero own Weight and the r and also to connect ear iacl-rstay p nt 36, i or 1, to rain. the on M'CG illlf ly ml.

tor sup 0' bends.

l .l. inch:- ns of SHOP;

, as well as c cos f i .3 i i the points 01'. sin

V be h up which h in v.

m: in

lit

. may

I an excessive strain in the til Elli

neeaeaa v jaclrpennant 36 being conveniently wound upon gypsy heads 391 and 392, respectively,

so that by rotation of the latter, any desired tension may be placed in the jackstay... By appropriate clutch mechanism, a winch 390 be used to operate both the jackpennant 36, and the block 20, by means of the lines 25. When the winch 390, provides the requisite tension in the ja clrstays 35, a clamp 47, engages the supporting hawser 2 for example, operated by toggle linlrs a9 and 72 attached to the plates 70 by means of pin 71. The clamp l7 may conveniently have an arcuate bearing surface l8. By this means it am able to keep the jiaclrs'tay 35 under the desired tension and yet allow for slipping in case jackstay 35 should be set up. to the upright lit) by means of a swivel connection ll to avoid twistingstresses in the iaclrpennant 33. Th case the clamp slips a winchman may talre a manila line attached to the jaclrstay 35 and aid of the winchBllti or capstan i not shown) until the jacltstay is again under the desired tension.

The haul-down bloclrs E20, are paid out to permit the hose to be clear of the water when all connections are made, and the pump ing operations maythen begin. litter the i'ueling operations are finished, the oil is blown from the hose, the latter is detached from the ship receiving the iiuel; the main cable is hauled down by means oil winch 390 to a position conveniently close to the declr and the hose manually hauled baclr to the ihuel ship. During the fueling operation, the ships may proceed underway at a speed oi even twelve lrnots. lWhen fueling is completed the shi s may be slowed down. When the hose has lieen hauled in, the supporting hawsers 2 and 3 are wound in by means of the automatic machines 10.

its an alternative to the arrangement above described for maintaining tension in the iaclrstay 35, ll may provide the arrangement shown in Fig. 4i, in which the jackstay pennant 36 is connected to an automatic ten sion engine 10 similar to automatic tension engine 10 operating the hawser By this arrangement ll rely upon the automatic tension engine 10" to maintain a desired tension in the jaclrstay instead of the winch 390 and the clamp ll. This arrangement has the advantage that the constant tension is at all times maintained in jackstay 35 and it may, therefore, dispense with clamp d7 Figs. 11, it and 13 showing the support d2 without the clamp. Tn this modification it provide a haul-down block 20 connected. by tackle 21' to the deck through block Q2 attached thereto. The block-20" and tackle 2i are operated by winch 23. The dotted lines indi eats the position oil the lines preparatory to attaching and detaching the hose.

Thejaclrpennant 36 is attached,

pull upon it with the li will now describe in detail certain parts oi the apparatus which are necessary or ad'- vantageous tor the carrying out of my invention.

The hangers 31 are exemplified in Figure 10 in which 33 denotes an endless manila strap adapted to grip the hose 30, and jackstay 35. The strap 33 is secured to the end portion oi the hoolr 52 by being looped around the shanlr portion 51, both ends pass ing through the eye 53. in order to securely loch the hook to the hawser 2, the hook is pro,- vided with a tongue lil pivotally secured to the head 55 by means of pin 56 and cotter 57. The end of the tongue 60 passes through a slot 61 and is held firmly against the edge 62 oil the opposite face of the book by means of spring 63, the latter being secured to the head of the hook by means of bolt (it. it will be seen that owing to the position of the pivot 56 with reierence to the end portion 60 ot the tongue, the resultant of any force Jill exerted on the portion til by a movement of no tendency tor the end portion (30 ot the tongue to move out of engagement with the contacting surface 62 against which it is firmly pressed by spring 33.

' litwill be noted that by means of mast 38 on the fuel ship, it am able to support the fuel hose 30 clear oi" the water, while providing an arrangement whereby the hose may be lowcred when it is desirable to do so. By suspending the hose clear of the water, it achieve a notable advantage, in that the oil. passing through the hose is not chilled by the cooler sea water, its viscosity increased and tlow diminished. Furthermore, ll thereby eliminate the drag caused by the sagging of the hose in the sea, which may amount to several thousand pounds additional stress in the towing hawsers.

it will be seeh that l have provided a simple and efiective means tor supplying fuel to i a ship while in motion, and while it have shown apparatus embodying my invention, it will be understood that the same is illustrative only and that the details thereot as well as the procedure may be variedv considerably without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What it claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent ol" the United States is y l. The combination with a fueling ship and a ship to be fueled, of a haivser elevated above the water connecting said ships, a hose, means for suspending said hose from said hawser, a distance line sagging into the sea and tending to maintain a uniform distance between said ships.

2.. The combination with a ship to be fueled, of a said ships, a hose, hose from said tervals to said a fueling ship and hawser connecting means for suspending said hawser, a cable secured at in hose and the ends thereoi to litia lilo llE l ire saidships and means to subject said cable to tension to prevent undue slipping of said hose longitudinally of the supporting hawser.

3. The combinationwith a fueling ship and a ship to be fueled, of a hawser elevated above the water connecting said ships, a hose sup ported on said hawser and means on the fueling ship for supporting said hawser sufficiently to clear the intervening water.

4. The combination with a fueling ship and a ship to be fueled, of a hawser connecting said ships, a hose supported by said hawser, means on the fueling ship for supporting said hawser at such a height that the hose will be clear of the water, and means to bring a portion of said hawser between the support therefor and the ship to be fueled in proximity of the deck of the fueling ship to facilitate attaching thehosethereto.

5. The combination with a fueling ship and a ship to be fueled, of a hawser connecting said ships, a hose supported by said hawser, means on the fueling ship for supporting said hawser at such a height that the hose will be clear of the water, a haul-down block on said hawser intermediate said supporting means and the edge of the ship and a tackle for said block for bringing a portion of said hawser into proximity of the Working deck.

6. The combination with a fueling ship and a ship to be fueled, of a hawser connecting said ships, a hose suspended from said hawser by a plurality of hooks, slidably mounted on said hawser, a jackstay parallel with said hose and secured thereto at a plurality of points and means for placing said jackstay under tens10n.

7 The combination with a fueling ship and a ship to be fueled, of a hawser connecting said ships, a hose, means for suspending said hose from said hawser, means for maintaining a uniform tension in said hawser, a cable connecting said ships and disposed parallel with said hawser and fastened to said hose at a plurality of points, and means for maintaining uniform tension in said cable.

8. In an a paratus for supplying fuel to ships at sea the combination of a hawser connecting a fueling shi with the ship to be fueled, a hose suspended from said awser, a cable connecting said ships and secured at intervals to said hose, a sup ort for the bend in said hose adjacent the rst point of its suspension from the hawser, means on said support for securing said cable and means on said support for frictionally securing said support to said hawser.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 to- "ether with means for maintaining said cable h u a I and said hawser under uniform tension.

10. In an apparatus for supplying fuel to ships at sea, the combination of a hawser connecting a fueling ship with the ship to be fueled, a plurality of hooks slidably engaging said hawser, means carried by said hooks for preventing disengagement thereof from the tion with a fuel ship and a ship to be fueled,

of a distance hawser fixed to said ships, a supporting hawser fixed to the shi to be fueled and attached to the fuel shi t rough automatic tension means, means or maintaining uniform tension in said hawser and permitting the length of said hawser to vary as the distance between said shi s varies, a fueling hose supported by said awser and means for maintaining a predetermined tensidn in said hose.

13. The method of passing a liquid from one ship to another at sea by a device comprising a suspended cable and a hose, which consists in supporting the hose by the cable between said ships, placing a predetermined substantially constant tension on said hose and said suspended cable, and passing the liquid from one ship to the other through said hose. -l

14. The method of supporting a flexible conduit which consists in applying a predetermined tensioning force at a plurality of points along the conduit and applying a transverse supporting force at a plurality of points along the conduit.

15. The method of supplying oil from a fueling ship to a shipto be fueled which consists in suspending a hose between said ships at a plurality of points throughout the length thereof, applying tension at a pluraht of points on the hose in a direction substantially longitudinal of it to oppose sagging therein and passing oil through the hose.

16. The method of supplying oil from a fueling ship to a ship to be fueled which consists in suspending a hose between said ships at a plurality of points throughopt the length thereof, applying tensionat said points on the hose in a direction substantially longitudinal of it to o pose sagging thcrein and passing oil throug the hose.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER. 

